J 2 i 5 ana cally in W.
W 1 i 5 a-na
G9 WC i 5 tu-qu-un-ti OV(l) – W has the wrong case vowel.^512
j i 5^1 i 5 t[u-q]u-un-tú [t]u-qu-un-ti
(^) G10 C i 6 (^) [ a]t (^) OV(l) – W has the long form of the verb *nd’,
W J^2 i 6 ˹na-da˺-at “drop, throw down.”^513
1 i 6 [n]a- ˹da˺-at-ta
G11 C i 6 e-lu ṣe-ri-ka OV(l) – W has a different vowel appended to
J W 2 i 6 e-l[u the preposition elu, “upon.”^514
j i 6^1 i 6 e-li l]u ṣe-[ri]-ka ṣe-ri-ka
(^) G12 C i 7 (^) ba-la-ṭa teš-˹ú˺ OV(l) – Possible difference in pronuncia-
W 1 i 7 ˹ba-la˺-[ṭa te]š-’-um tion.^515
(^512) W has the case vowel for genitive singular /i/ > /u/ in the phrase (^) ana epuš tuqunti, “to make trouble.”
The spelling in W may reflect a tendency toward vowel harmony on the part of the scribe, but such an ex-
planation could only be conjectured on analogy with other instances where similar changes occur in case
vowels. This is one possible explanation for case vowels that are identical to the penultimate vowel of the
root to which they are attached, as occurs frequently in W, cf. G7, G9, G11, G16, G22, G28, G40, G70,
G73, G275; and also sporadically in J, cf. G136, G138, G140, G142, G158. It should be noted, though, that
aberrant case vowels are explained as a matter of orthography rather than vowel harmony in the grammars.
It remains that the case vowels in J and W, where they vary from the other sources, typically follow the
penultimate vowels of the form to which they are appended. One may note the observation in J. Hämeen-
Anttila, Neo-Assyrian Grammar, 32, that “a final vowel may be sporadically assimilated to a preceding
long stressed vowel ... [or] casus vowels may even affect the root vowel ... The impact of Babylonian dia-
lect on NA may, in fact, be the cause for some of these changes.” 513
See A.R. George, Gilgamesh, 878 where all sources are taken as writing a stative form. W writes the
final weak form as trisyllabic (with a “-t” affixed to the weak root to aid pronunciation). Alternatively the
form in W could be read as a stative plus an afformative subject suffix (the so-called ‘permansive’) which
is apocopated in C and J (cf. M.B. Rowton, "Use of the Permansive," 260). This is equal to 2 ms ‘active
stative,’ or a predicative verbal adjective (cf. J. Huehnergard, Grammar, 393-95). A.R. George suggests
this could be an example of an unusual Kuyunjik orthographic form where VC is written as CV (see Gil-
gamesh 514 , 438).
This variant is listed as a “minor difference in word or expression” in A.R. George, Gilgamesh, 429.